The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, which are part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), go into effect April 1. Employers with fewer than 500 employees are subject to the Act. The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act requires employers to post a model notice which the Department of Labor (DOL) has now provided. Each covered employer must post this notice in a conspicuous place on its premises. Recognizing the current situation where many employees are teleworking or otherwise not at the employer premises, the DOL has stated that an employer may satisfy the posting requirement by emailing or direct mailing this notice to employees or by posting this notice on an employee information internal or external website. Employers with fewer than 500 employees who have not already done so should do so today — before the Act goes into effect.

The DOL also has posted a series of questions and answers that are useful in complying with the Act. These questions and answers are updated from time to time, so check the DOL’s website periodically for those updates. The DOL’s statement on the definitions of “health care provider” and “emergency responder,” which are quite broad and which those connected to health care should consider. (See DOL Guidelines #55-57). Employers with fewer than 50 employees should also review the DOL’s statements on the potential exemption of those businesses. (DOL Guidelines #4, 58-59).

Please visit the Pepper Hamilton LLP / Troutman Sanders LLP COVID-19 Resource Center for COVID-19 news and developments, recommendations from leading health organizations, and tools that businesses can use free of charge. Please reach out to members of the COVID-19 Task Force of Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton, or an attorney with whom you work, for guidance about COVID-19.

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